NJPW G1 Climax 27 7/26 Block A Recap by Jason Harland

G1 Climax for Wednesday 7/26. The Cliff Notes version, skip this show entirely.

David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga

Yujiro pins Finlay with Pimp Juice.

My Take:

Nothing to say other than this was the opening match. Nothing stood out in this match, it was just kinda “meh”.

Jado & Yano vs. Bushi & Sanada

Right as the match starts, Yano low-blows both members of LIJ and rolls up Bushi for the pinfall victory.

My Take:

Well at least this one was short.

Taichi & Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiromu Takahashi & EVIL

Hiromu pins Taichi with a Gedo-clutch pin.

My Take:

It was amusing to see Hiromu beat Taichi with his own finishing move.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Michael Elgin vs. Chase Owens & Kenny Omega

Elgin powerbombs Owens into Omega in the corner, then pins Owens with an Elgin bomb.

My Take:

Elgin is always impressive to watch. Omega taunts Elgin with his US Title after the match, a prelude to tomorrow’s main event where Elgin and Omega face off.

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Gedo & Kazuchika Okada

Kojima pins Gedo with the Cozy Lariat.

My Take:

To the surprise of no one, Gedo ate the pin in this one. Okada faces Kojima in G1 action tomorrow, though nothing was done post-match to add fuel to that fire.

– G1 Climax Block A matches –

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yoshi-Hashi

Ishii pins Yoshi-Hashi with a brainbuster.

Match Highlights:

Ishii no-sells repeated shin kicks to his head.

Yoshi-Hashi kicks out of a superplex at 2

Ishii kicks out of the loose explosion swanton at 2

Ishii fights his way to the ropes to break a Butterfly Lock

Ishii kicks out of a shining wizard at 2.5

Yoshi-Hashi kicks out of a powerbomb pin at 2

Ishii kicks out of a lariat at 2.7

Yoshi-Hashi kicks out of a diving lariat at 2.5

My Take:

On paper this looks like it could be match of the night. The match itself was good, but it never quit reached that “next-level” that would have made it a great match. Yoshi-Hashi looked strong despite the loss, holding his own against the much bigger Ishii.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bad Luck Fale

Zack rolls up Fale as Fale was breaking free of the armbar Zack put him in.

Match Highlights:

Fale fights to the ropes to break a leg submission.

Zack kicks out out of a lariat at 2

Zack counters the hand grenade lariat by locking Fale into a hanging arm-bar.

My Take:

Hard to get into this match. Slow, plodding, and two very different in-ring styles. I am surprised Zack won by pinfall as opposed to submission.

Togi Makabe vs. Kota Ibushi

Makabe pins Ibushi with the King Kong Knee Drop.

Match Highlights:

Ibushi kicks out of a Northern Lights Suplex Pin at 2

Makabe kicks out of a lariat at 2

Makabe kicks out of an Avalanche Frankensteiner at 2

Makabe his a big knee off the top turnbuckle, catching Ibushi as he got up form the mat.

Ibushi kicks out of a kenneling powerbomb pin at 1!

My Take:

Ibushi did his best to make this match exciting. It wasn’t a great match, but it was adequate. Makabe is still boring as all hell to watch.

Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito pins Nagata with two destinos.

Match Highlights:

Nagata kicks out of an orbital DDT at 2

Nagata locks an armbar on Naito and goes into demon mode.

Nagata kicks out of a very sloppy Destino.

My Take:

Once again it takes two destinos to win a match, Making the Destino itself seem like a weak finisher. This was a bit of a weak match to be honest, not much excitement in this one.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto

Tanahashi pins Goto with the High Fly Flow.

Match Highlights:

Tana counters an Ushigoroshi attempt into a Sling Blade. Goto kicks out at 2

Tanahashi kicks out of an Ushigoroshi at 2.5

My Take:

I’m just glad this one is over. We’ve had a string of days now with shitty main events. Hopefully the main event tomorrow, Elgin vs. Omega, will deliver a great match.

Overall Take:

Much like yesterday, today’s card looked boring on paper and lived down to those expectations I had for it. Today is another G1 show you can skip entirely, nothing to see here.